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About the School of Natural Resources and Environment

Mission Statement

The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching and outreach, faculty, staff and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.

A Tradition of Leadership

In 1950, the University of Michigan established the School of Natural Resources, one of the first schools of its kind. But the study of natural resources and environmental problems has been part of the University for more than 100 years. Fittingly, the school changed its name to the School of Natural Resources and Environment in 1992. The school remains a global leader in educating students to be innovative and effective stewards of the environment.

The school's home is the Dana Building, which underwent a series of renovations and is now the greenest academic building on U-M's campus. Other SNRE facilities include terrestrial, aquatic and analytical laboratories; a microcomputer laboratory; a remote-sensing laboratory; a computer graphics laboratory for landscape architecture; and a geographic information systems laboratory. In addition, Nichols Arboretum, Stinchfield Woods and Saginaw Forest, and the University's Biological Field Station and Matthaei Botanical Gardens, are available to the school for research and field work.

A Commitment to Future Leaders

The current rate and scale of environmental change are unprecedented. Responding to this, the school has adopted an ambitious, but essential mission. We aim to train leaders, develop policies and teach the skills necessary to manage and conserve the Earth's resources on a sustainable basis. For more than half a century, the school has been a leader in natural resource and environmental research and education. The tradition continues today and into the coming century.

A Historical Timeline

From its beginnings in 1903 as the University of Michigan's Department of Forestry, the School of Natural Resources and Environment has been adapting to and anticipating the needs of environmental leaders. Take a walk through time with our Great Moments Timeline.

Contributing expertise to Dean Marie Lynn Miranda and SNRE's leadership team, the SNRE Visiting Committee is helping to expand the school's reach and influence on campus, across the nation and around the world.

Directions to SNRE

SNRE Mission

The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching and outreach, faculty, staff and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.